Behind the Facade

“The rush of memories whiz her off her feet

  Unlike others it wasn’t much of a treat

  Her deepest fears and anxiety rooted from way back then

  When innocence should have overruled youth’s den”

 

 

The veil flutters for a brief moment. Her eyes sting, as the first ray of sunlight seeps in. The light which had left her years ago before she could even realize the significance of it, now tried to cajole his way back. Momentarily, she resisted. Forgiveness was something she had mastered well over the years. But forgetting? Oh no, she could not even try accomplishing that. Years of dwelling where one shouldn’t have, walking the lanes of guilt and resentment, moulded her into something she feared knowing herself. How then could she let another find her? How could she let him see what she has become?

 

Lost in the chaos of her mind, the waft of morning breeze caught her by surprise. It blew away her hood, forcing her to face the light. Crouching away, she still defied his power. A single tear made its way down her weary eyes. She gasped. The fight had been too painful for her to bear. In the end that one drop of emotion had betrayed her. Yet as she stood up, she sensed a strange sense of relief. Defeated indeed, but the price paid for it was anything but pain. Drops of tears trickled down; she reached up to her own eyes, feeling them. Wrapped in a sense of tranquillity, her brows lifted from the crease that had taken homage without her knowledge.

 

Hesitation. Was it too late to go back? Oh but she didn’t want to go back the road she had been travelling. But perhaps the dread of finding herself was too meagre. She had lived through infidelity. But at this hour, could she betray herself? It would be easy, perhaps easier than facing the truth. She flinched as her thoughts took her to ponder.

 

Decided now, she looked up. Stamping out her own demeaning thoughts she faced the light. If she could give anything to this world, she would. If her life, thoughts and words could help another, she would readily give in. For what could be of more value to her than saving another from taking the same path that she had? Her worth she had lost already. To save another, that was nobler a cause to fight for than her own grudges.